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TV and film are edging closer toward each other, and no soulless multimedia conglomerate embodies this hybridization better than Marvel. It isn't a coincidence that Marvel's best stuff has come from Joss Whedon, a third-generation TV writer who can turn massive casts, sitcom quips, and blockbuster spectacle into movies that are more than the sum of their billion parts. And there are a billion parts: Avengers: Age of Ultron is the 11th (11th!) Marvel movie. Things explode, the plot hurtles forward, and everybody cracks jokes. But more importantly—in between all the callbacks to previous films and setups for sequels—Whedon finds a great movie (141 min.).
ByErik Henriksen